Three go mad in Soup

Last Saturday, post-tango class. We tried on piles of stuff - a good deal of mine and S's at the request of V, who is outfitting us for Buenos Aires. At V's urging, my pile included a long flimsy thing in the vile pastel turqoise they used to paint bathrooms. Rapidly discarded.

V bought a Bally skirt she calls a moveable blanket - winter-weight, brocade-y, which she says she's going to wear every day. S, a long skinny plain black tee-shirt dress. My haul, after much enjoyable trial and error, was this cunningly designed Ricochet skirt.

I love pleats, they're mobile and easy to wear without adding bulk. That embroidered panel drops from the waist and does up on each side with numerous hooks and eyes, corset-wise. Great with flashy tights for tango, and with good heavy opaques for ordinary wear.

This was my second score. It cost twice as much as the skirt, although here its aesthetic appeal suffers from the lack of a body inside. It's a Desigual cotton dress, with a drawstring neck that laces down the back, putting a bra out of the question. The wonder of it is the skirt - wildly flared by godets from halfway down, and more godets inside those. It moves deliciously. That, and the fact that it meets V's requirement that tango wear have something going on at the back, makes this perfect for tango, notwithstanding the simple summery fabric and the unhemmed skirt.

I'm wearing the skirt (and the red tights) right now. The dress will have to wait for warmer weather.